Mutation

Mutation alone improved the aging species' competitiveness but usually did not prevent its extinction. Most mutation-only runs still ended with extinction of the aging species, although 7 of 50 runs favored it. The model's mutation assumptions omit many aspects of real genetic variation. Offspring inherited parental fitness plus a small mutation term in the model. Rare large mutations were excluded from the simulation. Excessively large mutation strength eliminated the aging advantage.